Singing in the Forest
by theohbm
Summary: With an old enemy returned from the dead, the gang are forced to consider new questions. What is Kate and how is she alive? Even worse, why is Stiles having strange dreams again and why does he feel drawn back to the nemeton? Could it all be linked to the singing Lydia can't stop hearing from the forest? Singing that makes her want to scream. Based after season three.
1. Chapter 1

It was the same dream again. Stiles had hoped that the weird dreams would stop after the nogitsune left his body, although they weren't like the nightmares he'd had when he was possessed.

It started the same way as it always did, with him wandering through the forest at night, wearing nothing but his pyjamas. Barefoot he walked across the rough terrain of the forest floor without making a sound, heading towards something without even knowing the way. Taking another few steps he walked out into the clearing where the nemeton sat, brooding.

He stopped, unsure what to do next, the dream had always ended when he reached the nemeton before. Turning around slowly Stiles began to panic, afraid he was going to see the bandaged head of the nogitsune again as he had before in dreams like this. Instead nothing happened, the trees rustled in the breeze and the nemeton stump stood motionlessly behind him, as immovable as a mountain.

_Come._

Stile whipped around, searching for the voice that had spoken but there was nothing but trees. 'I need to wake up,' he told himself, his voice shaking slightly, 'this is just a dream and I need to wake up.'

_Come._

Having heard it a second time Stiles realised that it wasn't a voice that had spoken. It was as if the rustling of leaves, chirruping of insects and all the other background noises of the forest suddenly synchronized perfectly to sound that word in an insistent whisper.

_Come._

Stile turned slowly to look down at what remained of the nemeton, breathing heavily. 'Who are you?' He asked in fear, not breaking his eyes away from the wooden stump.

_COME!_

With the word still echoing in his head Stile woke with a gasp, as if emerging from underwater after holding his breath. He sat up in his bead, beads of sweat shining on his temple.

'What the hell,' he whispered to himself.

* * *

'You don't look too good,' Scott told Stiles as he closed his locker door with a bang, a look of concern on his face.

'Yeah, well I guess it takes some time to readjust after being possessed by an evil fox spirit,' Stiles joked back, rubbing his eyes.

'It's been a month Stiles. Maybe you should talk to Deaton about it. You might be having…I don't know, post-possession stress or something.'

'It's fine Scott, really,' Stiles reassured the alpha, 'I mean, _you've _had dreams about the nemeton too.'

'Yeah but not as much as you and its never _spoken _to me,' Scott reminded him as they headed down the corridor to their first lesson, nearly walking into Isaac who was heading the other way. Instead of stopping to say hello Isaac just gave a nod and walked away, keeping his eyes on the ground in front of him.

'How is he?' Stiles asked as he watched the boy turn a corner and vanish, feeling guilty for bringing him up just to avoid a conversation.

'Still searching for Derek after school,' Scott said, unhappily looking after the retreating beta. 'He's getting pretty obsessed about it too. I think he's just avoiding having to think about…Allison.'

'I'm sorry man, I shouldn't have brought it up,' Stiles apologised.

'No, it's cool. Kira helped me through it a lot, but Isaac, he doesn't have anyone but us and Derek,' Scott returned mournfully.

'Where is Kira, I haven't seen her around this morning?' Stiles asked curiously.

'She's got physics with Lydia and Malia.'

'Oh,' Stiles replied, 'that must be…interesting.'

* * *

'Well done you three,' the teacher stated as he walked past the trio's table, 'I must say I I'm impressed at how quickly you've adapted to the workload in this class miss Tate and I'm sure I have you two to thank for it.'

'Thanks sir,' Lydia said, flashing a beautiful grin as he walked to the next table.

'Why do you two get all the credit for my scores in this class,' Malia said in irritation as she eyed the departing head of the teacher.

'In fairness Lydia and I did most of the work for this project,' Kira pointed out as she turned the handle of the mini generator in front of them. As a group assignment the class had been made to create their own hand powered generators with only the materials provided in class. The generators would be connected to an ammeter in class and whichever produced the highest among of energy would win a prize. Currently the three's was producing twice the energy of any other, mainly due to the fact that Kira was adding her own foxfire through the handle she was moving.

'Yeah, let's face it. You spent way too much time in the woods when you were young and not nearly enough time studying,' Lydia joked calmly, flicking her red hair over her shoulder.

'Ha, ha, very funny,' Malia retorted sarcastically as Lydia leaned forward to watch the small magnets twist around in their copper coils.

Lydia stiffened as she heard the faint sound of the voices coming from the whir of the magnets like they had from the noise of a taught string being plucked. She leaned in closer, her heart pounding, in the vain hope that she could make out what the voices were saying to her. It was like the words were at the very edge of hearing, almost teasing her to try and discern what was being said but no matter how much she strained she just couldn't grasp…

'Lydia?' Malia's voice said, silencing the whispering voices and bringing Lydia back to reality.

'What?' Lydia asked distractedly, still staring at the generator, now silent as Kira had stopped spinning it.

'The bell's rung,' Kira said uncertainly, 'Are you alright? You were kind of staring blankly there.'

'Yeah, it was nothing,' Lydia replied as she picked up her books, not entirely looking the two in the eye as she said it.

* * *

When the final bell rang Stiles followed Scott out of the school to the parking spaces where Scott's motorbike and Stile's beat-up jeep sat. As they arrived at Scott's motorbike Kira appeared from around a corner and wrapped her arms around the boy's neck, leaning forward to kiss him while Stiles stood to the side.

'Hey Kira,' Stiles said to her as they parted, waving his hand in a small hello.

'Hey Stiles, how's everything?' Kira asked back with interest, 'Still having weird dreams?'

'Nah, I think it's getting better,' Stiles lied.

'He's lying,' Scott told her, ignoring Stile's look of annoyance. 'If anything, they're getting worse.'

'Well, have you ever thought of going to the Nemeton to see if that might help,' Kira suggested.

'I don't know about that. The last time I started confusing dreams with reality I ended up in Malia's old coyote den,' Stiles half-joked. 'How is Malia by the way, does she ever…mention me?'

'Sometimes,' Kira said uncertainly, 'don't you hang out all the time though?'

'Well, yeah,' Stiles replied uncomfortably, 'but we never really _hang _out together, at first she only came round to train with Scott and then she only hung out with Lydia and me when we were tutoring her.'

'Well you could probably go and see her at the race track, she usually spends an hour there before she heads home,' Kira said, pointing off towards the general direction of the sports field.

'Really? Well, I mean, I wasn't really planning on doing anything anyway so I guess I could…see you guys later,' Stiles said awkwardly as he back away before leaving the two alone, trying not to laugh too much.

'So, dinner at my house?' Scott asked Kira as she fished her riding helmet out from her bag.

'Sure, but I've got homework to do so you can't distract me.'

'I make no promises.'

* * *

Malia was finishing her fifth lap around the pitch when Stiles jogged around the stadiums. She was barely out of breath as she loped over towards the benches to grab her water bottle, leaving the other runners to run their laps, gasping for breath.

'Hey Malia,' Stiles greeted awkwardly as he walked over to her, 'how's it going?'

'Good Stiles, what are you doing here? I didn't think there was any lacrosse practice tonight,'

'There isn't, I heard you were running here and I thought you might like to hang out,' Stiles continued, regretting the constant awkwardness in his voice.

'Oh yeah sure,' Malia replied. 'Just give me another couple of laps and then we can go for a walk or something.'

'Right, great,' Stiles said, a smile touching his lips as Malia smiled back as she turned back to the running track.

'Cool,' he continued to himself as he sat down on the bench.

* * *

As the sun was still shining, keeping the air pleasantly warm, Lydia decided to walk down a forest path to her home instead of taking the bus. She kept her head high as she walked, listening to music from her IPod as she did, and enjoyed the feeling of sunlight on her skin as it broke through the trees.

The whispering echoed through her ears again between the silence of one song ending and another beginning. With annoyance Lydia pulled out her ear buds and tucked them into her pocket, if it was important the voices would work harder for her to actually understand what they were saying.

As she drew her head up from her pocket she saw the indistinct figure of Isaac flitting through the trees. Sighing she jogged over to him before he could disappear into the wilderness.

'Have you ever thought it might just be easier to walk along the paved out track rather than jumping over roots?' She asked him sarcastically as he came within speaking range. Isaac didn't jump as she spoke, probably because he'd either seen or more likely heard her coming towards him.

'I've been checking the forest for signs of Derek's scent,' he responded unenthusiastically.

'I'm guessing you haven't found anything,' Lydia replied as she followed him nonchalantly over the woody terrain. 'Maybe he just left, the apartment was empty after all and he's done it before.'

'He told Scott when he went to South America with Cora, this time he just vanished _and_ Peter's gone too,' Isaac retorted with irritation.

'Well, Derek vanishing is…unfortunate, but for me Peter disappearing is an improvement,' Lydia said honestly. 'Are we ever going to talk about the real reason you're so obsessed over this. It's been a month; Allison would want you to move on.'

'Move on as fast as you did you mean?' Isaac replied snidely.

'That's not fair,' Lydia snapped, anger reddening her cheeks, 'I miss Aiden as much as you miss Allison. The only _difference_ is I'm not letting it take over my life.'

'So what should I do then?' Isaac almost yelled as he turned on her. 'Should I just abandon Derek when he might be in danger?'

'There's no evidence to suggest he _is_,' Lydia replied exasperatedly. 'Why are you trying to make this so difficult for yourself?'

Whatever Isaac's response was, Lydia never heard it. As she watched his mouth open and close to form words she could feel the sensation of silence flowing around her, drowning out the rustle of leaves and chirping of insects. In the space left over she heard it, at first quiet but growing louder with each passing beat. Singing, in a language Lydia didn't know, was coming from deep within the forest, there were no instruments to play music but none were needed as the combined voices seemed to have harmonics and rhythms that combined together to create a song that surpassed music and went beyond anything a whole symphony could accomplish.

It was the most beautiful sound Lydia had ever heard, and the most terrifying. The singing seemed to enter her ears and flow done her spine as icy cold terror, making her tremble and shiver as the beat of the song went on joyfully. Lydia had never felt like this, even when she had been kidnapped by evil Stiles she hadn't felt such fear, there was something wrong with these songs and something inside her knew it and trembled in fear of hearing it.

'Lydia? Lydia what's wrong,' Isaac's voice called out through the noise in her head, not drowning out the song but cutting through it enough for her to hear. It allowed her to focus on him again, she'd been so focused on the singing that she had stopped paying attention to what she was seeing. He was kneeling down to talk to her, apparently she had collapsed onto her knees but she didn't remember when.

'Can't you hear it?' She screamed back, trying to be heard over the music as it filled her ears and quickened in tempo.

'No, what is it?'

'It's coming from the forest, it...,' Lydia started to explain until stopping as a familiar feeling rose in her chest. Without thought or intention she sucked in all the air she could and did the only thing that might block out the singers. She screamed.

* * *

'So how've you been?' Stiles asked Malia as they began to walk through the forest.

'You know how I've been Stiles, it's not like we never talk,' Malia laughed. 'I still haven't told dad about any of…the other stuff but I'll get around to it.'

'Well I found it pretty hard to come out to my dad about this as well,' Stiles replied, 'I think I overcomplicated it by using chess pieces.'

'Well at least you didn't have as much baggage when you did it. When I do it there are going to be a whole load of issues to sort through,' Malia returned in a neutral tone as she looked up into the sky.

'Can you change back into a coyote yet?' Stiles asked quickly in the hopes of moving the subject away from less cheerful matters.

'Nope, but I'm still trying. Scott tells me it's a really rare skill,'

'Yeah, the only other person who could change fully was Derek's mum, your aunt I guess,' Stiles said, 'What exactly do you plan on doing when you get the power back?'

'I don't really know, I guess I'll figure that out when I get there,' Malia returned with a small smile. 'You're not worried I'll leave without saying goodbye are you?'

'What? No, I mean, it seemed like you're happy to stay human but I might have been wrong about that so I was asking just in case,' Stiles replied quickly, letting his mouth run off before his brain could think out a better response, but was glad to hear Malia laugh a little at it. A moment later she stopped and looked around in confusion, making Stiles stop to turn back to her to see what was wrong.

'Do you know where we are? It looks like we've walked off the track,' Malia stated as she looked around them for a path that was indeed no longer there.

'Well it can't be too far off, it shouldn't be that difficult to find,' Stiles said but as he looked around uncertainty crept into him. The trees and landscape around them seemed all wrong for the forest outside of the school grounds and the last few months of running around after werewolves and kanimas and everything else had given him a pretty good understanding of Beacon Hills' geography so he was sure this wasn't right. In fact, if anything, it looked more like the trees that surrounded the…oh.

Turning back around, Stiles looked ahead to the place they'd been heading to and could see what might be a clearing further forward. Slowly he began to walk towards it, willing himself to be wrong.

'Stiles? Where are you going?' Malia asked as she walked up behind him.

'I think I know where we are but it can't be right,' Stiles said half to himself. 'It's nowhere near the school and we've barely walked anywhere.'

And yet, as he said it, they stepped out into the small clearing where the nemeton sat in the centre. _I must be dreaming_, Stiles thought to himself, they couldn't possibly have walked all that way to the nemeton in such a short period of time. He instinctively looked down at his hands to count the fingers but nothing was amiss, there were only ten. He looked back up to see Malia watching him uncertainly.

'I'm going to take a wild guess here,' she said, 'and say that something weird is going on.'

'Yeah,' Stiles replied, forcing himself not to look at the stump in front of them, 'that's the nemeton except that we shouldn't have been able to walk anywhere near to it so quickly.'

'Okay, that's good to know,' Malia said as she turned back to look at the remains of the great tree again. 'So what do we do now?'

'How about you put your hands in the air,' a voice behind them suggested. A voice that was frighteningly familiar.

'Kate?' Stiles said in surprise as he turned around to see the smiling woman emerge from the trees behind them, holding a shotgun that was currently pointing to the ground, although her stance suggested it could be raised to horizontal any time she wanted.

'Hi Stiles, long time no see,' Kate said cheerfully as she backed him and Malia out into the clearing. 'How've you been? And while you're at it, could you tell me how you managed to get so close without me knowing it?'

'Who is this?' Malia whispered to Stiles as Kate came out from under the trees.

'Allison's psychotic killer aunt,' Stiles whispered hurriedly back as escape plans raced wildly across his mind.

'That's enough whispering thank you, and I'd prefer _merciless_ killer Stiles,' Kate smiled as she raised her shotgun. 'If you were wondering, now would be a good time to answer my questions.'

Before Stiles could say anything Malia rushed forward, claws unsheathed on both hands, and dived for Kate. Kate seemed unfazed by the movement and just as quickly, no, faster even, she took aim and fired her shotgun, blasting Malia back to Stiles with a whole in her stomach. Black ooze began to seep from it even as Stiles knelt down to check the wound, Malia's breathing was laboured as she looked up at Kate with a snarl lining her lips.

'That was a warning shot, of course it'll also be a killing one soon enough but a warning nonetheless,' Kate said smoothly as she looked down at the two. 'Unfortunately for you Stiles this _next_ shot will be very quickly terminal if you don't tell me how you snuck up here right now.'

'I, I don't know, we were just walking and…' Stiles babbled as he pressed his hands on Malia's wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

'Oh, is that all? Well if that's all you know then you're no use to me anyway,' Kate said before raising the gun again.

Stiles didn't even think before he reacted, his body just took over without consulting his brain and threw him away as the shot rattled past, nearly grazing him even so. He landed at the giant roots of the nemeton and felt his hand hit something hard. Wincing he looked at what it was without thinking and paused for a moment in shock of what he was seeing.

Wedged under and between the roots of the nemeton was a sword, it was the sword's handle that his hand had hit. He could just make out beyond the hilt the shining metal blade stuck deep into the earth and entangled in the tree's roots.

Instinctively he grabbed at the hilt and pulled with all his strength, feeling the blade give way beneath him and come loose. He turned around quickly to see Kate walking slowly towards him, her now empty gun held loosely at her side. He hurriedly stood up, his heart pounding in his chest, and raised the sword between him and Kate, pointing its tip at her. Now that the blade was out of the ground Stiles could get a better look at what it looked like.

The blade itself was covered in mud and grime from its time beneath the nemeton and was separated from the hilt with a large, circular guard that had four prongs jutting down over the hilt, making Stiles slightly worried about puncturing his hand on one of them. That being said, his fears seemed unfounded, his hand seemed to fit perfectly along the hilt, as if the two were made for one another.

Kate's laughter brought Stiles back from admiring the weapon and caused him to grip it tighter as she approached.

'Honestly Stiles, I don't even want to ask where you were hiding that,' she joked as she threw the shotgun aside. 'But I've had my fun with you now,' she sighed, although the smile never left her lips, 'it's time to end this.'

With that she opened her mouth in a snarl that became a roar as her face darkened, her eyes glowed green and fangs descended from her teeth. Soon a monster stood in front of Stiles, a dark blue, cat-like face stared back at him through slit eyes and sharp teeth twisted into Kate's old smile.

'How do you like the new look?' Kate growled mockingly before pouncing at Stiles who cried out in fear and alarm, raising the sword instinctively so that Kate's clawed hand met the flat of the blade as it came down.

There was a flash of light and the next thing Stiles knew Kate had been blown back by an unseen force, leaving her sprawling in the earth as she struggled to regain her balance. Stiles stood where he had before, the sword feeling oddly warm in his hand as he looked down at it in surprise. Kate gave him a single surprised look as she staggered to her feet before retreating into the safety of the trees where Stiles couldn't see her.

Keeping one eye on the treeline Stiles hurried back towards Malia and, sheathing the sword into a belt buckle, he picked a now unconscious Malia up into his arms and hurried away.

* * *

Scott and Kira hurried downstairs at the sounds of panic in Scott's kitchen. Night had fallen and a half-moon shone through the kitchen window as they stepped in to see Isaac and Lydia standing at the table.

'What's going on?' Scott asked, not worried by their sudden appearance in his house, he'd given Isaac a key, but at the looks on their faces.

'Something's happening,' Lydia said as she stepped forward a little shakily, 'something big.'

* * *

At the same time Dr Deaton answered the back door to his clinic to see a panting Stiles carrying a bleeding Malia with a desperate look on his face and an unusual sword at his side.

'She's been shot with wolfsbane,' he said as Deaton hurried him in to lay Malia on the operating table, 'and you'll never guess whose bullet it was.'

* * *

**Ok, so this is my next big story.**

**You'll have to bear with me on updates for a while because I have A-level exams coming up which means I'm not going to be able to write a lot until they're over.**

**That being said, I hope you guys like the look of this and have a good day :)**


	2. Chapter 2

'Put her on to the examination table,' Deaton ordered immediately as he led Stiles through his clinic. Stiles obeyed and carried Malia over to the shining table and gently lay her onto it. Deaton, meanwhile, had been rummaging through one of his locked cabinets from which he pulled out a bottle that contained dried leaves of some sort.

He walked swiftly over to Malia and set the bottle down on a try beside the table before examining the unconscious girl. 'Stiles, lift her arms so I can remove her shirt and getter a better look,' he said quickly, already peeling the bloodied fabric away from Malia's skin. Stiles obeyed, too focused on the seriousness of the situation to blush at seeing Malia once again without a shirt and only a bra.

Deaton left him holding the tattered remains of the shirt while he examined the large hole in her front. Opening the bottle he took a pinch of the dried leaves and crushed them expertly between thumb and forefinger before taking the crushed pieces and plunging them into the wound. Malia's body lifted and convulsed as if in pain as he did, although there was no indication on her face that she had woken, while smoke drifted from the gunshot wound. 'Hold her down,' Deaton ordered to which Stiles obeyed until Malia's convulsions stopped and the gunshot wound stopped smoking.

Deaton began to wrap Malia's waist with bandages while the adrenalin left Stiles, making him realise that he was still holding Malia's arms down, making him remove them quickly and blush slightly.

'You could go and fetch her one of Scott's tops from the back room. He's needed medical treatment here so many times that he started leaving spare clothes there just in case,' Deaton told him absentmindedly as he finished the bandages.

'Right,' Stiles returned before heading off and grabbing the shirt from a cardboard box in the room Deaton indicated. It was way too big to fit Malia properly but it was all they had and he was pretty sure she wouldn't be too happy about waking up shirtless.

When he returned and placed the shirt beside Malia, Deaton was washing his hands in the large sink at the side of the room. As Stiles clumsily slid Malia's arms through the shirt and tugged it until it covered her body he didn't notice as Deaton took a new, interested look at the sword that still hung at his side from one of his jean belt loops.

'So why don't you tell me what happened?' Deaton asked as he sat in a chair and motioned for Stiles to sit in another. Stiles relayed everything that had happened quickly, from the walk to discovering the sword, while Deaton listened patiently, sometimes interrupting with a question but mostly sitting quietly.

'This is certainly very strange,' Deaton said, half to himself, 'by all accounts Kate Argent should be dead. A werewolf would be very lucky to survive having their throat cut and she had only just been infected, meaning she couldn't yet have supernatural healing powers.'

'She didn't look like a werewolf though,' Stiles pointed out, 'She was more…feline.'

'I shall have to do some research to see if there is any precedent for this,' Deaton finally acknowledged.

'I guess I was just lucky to find that sword,' Stiles said in a joking manner. 'We'd have been in trouble if reality had noticed such a huge and unlikely probability of happening.'

'Hmm,' Deaton responded as he looked at the sword at Stiles' side. 'Do you mind if I take a look at it Stiles?' He asked, not taking his eyes from the sword.

'Uh, sure,' Stiles replied, taking the handle of the sword and carefully unsheathing it from his belt loop before handing it to Deaton who took it carefully along the muddied hilt. Without any warning the blade twisted out of Deaton's grip, turning in mid-air to make a light cut along the man's hand as it fell to the floor where it landed at Stiles' feet.

Stiles and Deaton looked at one another in surprise as Deaton clutched his injured hand. Stiles knew that Deaton hadn't just dropped the sword by accident; it had twisted _itself_ out of his grip, like an animal snapping its jaws when it didn't like being stroked by a stranger.

'Interesting,' Deaton breathed, looking in awe at the blade that lay at Stiles feet. 'Stiles, could you clean away the mud on the blade. I think there's more to this sword than we realised.'

'Um, is it safe?' Stiles asked, not wanting the sword to do the same to him as it did to Deaton.

'Don't worry, I don't think It'll happen to you,' Deaton promised as he put the small cut on his hand under the tap of his sink and ran cold water over it.

Gingerly Stiles picked up the sword and stood up; he waited a moment for something to happen and was relieved when nothing did. Still, he carried it with caution over to the sink and placed its tip carefully under the water of the tap. Some of the mud instantly fell away under the water's pressure but the lower layers were more stubborn and Stiles was forced to take a cloth and rub them away, always with the fear that the sword might suddenly move again and take one of his fingers off.

However, he stopped worrying as more and more of the sword's blade and hilt was revealed, his fear falling away with every flake of mud. Soon the inside of the sink was glowing with a light that wasn't coming from the ceiling lights or a reflection but instead a strange silvery light that ran along the metal of the blade. Not just along the blade, Stiles realised, but _within_ it, as if a silver fire was burning just under the surface of the sword that even glowed through the white leather at the hilt.

Eventually he was done and he and Deaton stood, staring in awe at the beautiful sword in his hand as its inner light shone and shimmered with movement that combined the flowing movement of ripples on water with the dancing of flame.

'Incredible,' Deaton whispered before suddenly taking his phone from his pocket, stating, 'I need to make a call.'

'What is it?' Stiles asked as he watched the lights flicker along the blade as well as the lights that seemed to concentrate around his hand.

'I have a suspicion, but first I must call in someone who knows weapons better than I do,' Deaton told him as he waited with the phone at his ear. A moment later someone answered on the other end and Deaton spoke into the phone, 'Sorry to disturb you at such a late hour Mister Argent, but I think you'll want to see this.'

* * *

As Stiles waited for Chris Argent to arrive at the animal clinic he checked his phone and guiltily read the several missed calls and texts his dad had sent to ask where he was. He sent a reply telling his dad not to worry and that he was safe before checking the final message, a voice message from Scott.

Pressing the listen button Stiles put his phone to his ear and listened to the message, '_Hey Stiles, you need to come over to my house as soon as you can. There's something big going on again and Lydia's convinced we all need to stick together for tonight so get over here as fast as you can.'_

Stiles pressed the reply button immediately and waited as his phone called Scott. Eventually there was a beep as it moved to voicemail, typical, so he left a message in return.

_Hey Scott, Malia and I will get over to your house as soon as we can. I think I know about some of what's going on and you're not going to believe it. Just make sure your mountain ash defences are all up to scratch and I'll explain when I get there._

There, not too much to make Scott panic and rush over with a supernatural Kate on the prowl. Stiles spent the rest of the time waiting, fidgeting impatiently and glancing over to the now sleeping form of Malia who seemed to be growing healthier as the minutes went by.

'You know, I hate waiting,' he said conversationally to the unconscious figure, 'I get all twitchy. I always feel better when we're _doing_ something, waiting's just…painful.'

As he finished there were lights at the windows and the sound of Argent's car pulling up. Soon Stiles heard Deaton welcome the man in and Argent's gruff reply before the two stepped into the room where Stiles sat, the sword resting on his lap.

Immediately Argent's eyes were drawn to it and Stiles could clearly see a mixture of shock, surprise and awe in them. 'Could you put it on the table over there Stiles?' He asked when he had regained the use of his mouth and Stiles obeyed, gently placing the sword on the table that Argent went to eagerly.

'Be careful not to touch it mister Argent,' Deaton warned, 'the blade is…temperamental.'

'I could imagine so if it's what we think it is,' Argent agreed, keeping his hands away from the sword as he examined it from hilt to tip.

'The blade is designed in a rapier like fashion,' he eventually started as he looked back to Deaton and Stiles, 'but there are deviations. For a start a rapier would have a guard that flows over the hilt to protect the hands and fingers but this one only has these four prongs that provide minimal protection. Additionally this sword has a broader blade than a rapier with a sharper edge, meaning it can be used to slash and cut as well as stab. However, the strangest thing about its design is that I see no evidence that the blade was forged.'

'What do you mean?' Stiles asked curiously.

'When a sword is forged it is usually attached to the hilt separately, sometimes even separate parts of the blade are attached to one another, but there is no evidence that suggests that was what happened to this sword. From what I can see it looks like the hilt and blade are from the same block of metal, as if they were moulded rather than forged,' Argent informed him in the tones of someone trying to remind themselves.

'How old do you think it is?' Deaton asked nonchalantly.

'I don't know. I would normally think it couldn't be that long because the leather wrapped around the hilt doesn't seem that deteriorated but if the metal truly is what it appears then it is in fact older. Far older than the sixteenth century when rapiers were first designed, which you'd think is impossible.'

'Why do you keep talking about the metal? Is there some sort of metal-lovers club where you learn to date deadly weaponry with it?' Stiles asked sarcastically.

Deaton and Argent shared a look, as if communicating telepathically, before responding.

'It's living iron,' Argent explained, as if that solved everything.

'What? How can iron be alive?' Stiles asked in return.

'Because _all_ iron was once alive, or so it was believed,' Deaton answered. 'You see, many thousands of years ago small veins of glowing iron were discovered. At first people thought it was a strange trick of the light but soon realised the iron could think and act almost like a living creature.

'There used to be secret techniques to forge the living metal, as the normal way of hardening them with hammer blows would kill them and turn them ordinary. The stories suggest this was done because living iron could choose humans that were worthy and would serve no one else, like when yours wouldn't let me hold it.'

'They're actually where the myth of Excalibur came from,' Argent added.

'However, they all died out thousands of years ago, or so it was thought,' Deaton continued thoughtfully, 'but evidently one survived.'

'Why did people need these swords though, why not just have a normal one that was easier to make?' Stiles asked as he looked at the sword in front of him.

'It is…unclear why,' Deaton admitted, 'apparently there was a great war at the time where the swords and their chosen ones were needed for victory but the enemy or the reason for the war are unknown. It is possible the swords were seen as a super weapon of sorts as they are in fact stronger than average steel, so they could match shields and swords that should have been superior to them. And wielding a sword made from living metal had to have other benefits.'

'And, it's chosen me?' Stiles asked unbelievingly. After all, he was hardly warrior material.

'So it seems,' Deaton acknowledged.

'What's strange is how it turned up in Beacon Hills. All the stories took place in Europe and all the known living iron had disappeared long before the Americas were discovered,' Argent added curiously, just another mystery to add to the bunch.

'A question for another day I feel,' Deaton said as he wearily rubbed his eyes. 'Now we must come to our second matter Mister Argent, the reason Miss Tate is lying on my operating table.'

'Another hunter?' Argent asked, looking at Malia's sleeping form for the first real time since entering the room.

'An old one. Your sister,' Deaton stated as Stiles picked up the sword once again and sheathed it into his jeans.

'That's not possible,' Argent returned flatly, too flatly.

'You knew,' Stiles said as he watched Argent's expression and saw a momentary twitch along Argent's face. 'You knew and you didn't warn us your psychotic sister was still on the loose!' He nearly yelled, thinking of how things could have ended if it wasn't for the appearance of the sword.

'I didn't know! All I knew was that someone had shot at the twins using bullets with my family crest etched into them. How could I suspect that Kate was behind it when we _buried_ her?' Argent snapped back.

'You still should have warned us that there was someone out there _shooting_ at werewolves!'

'I was a little distracted on account of having to save Beacon Hills from _you_!'

'Stiles, put down the sword,' Deaton's calming voice washed over the two, making Stiles look down at his right hand which was clutching the unsheathed sword tightly. The light along the blade seemed to be rippling and dancing across the surface at a more rapid pace and Stiles was sure he could feel it vibrating under his hand. Slowly, he put it back once again through his belt buckle, unsure how he could have drawn it without realising.

'If we're done with the dramatics I think it's about time I drove Stiles and Malia to Scott's house where they'll be safe until Malia wakes up,' Deaton suggested as tension filled the air. 'Stiles, why don't you take Malia and help her into the backseat of my car.'

Stiles nodded and turned to lift Malia gently up, making sure the sword at his side was in a safe position, before walking after Deaton who himself was ushering Argent out to his own car. Soon they were all driving away from the closed clinic, Argent heading his own way home while Deaton took the familiar rode to Scott's house with Malia lying across the back seats and Stiles in the passenger seat, keeping one eye looking out the side window to watch for any movements in the shadows.

* * *

Scott jerked awake at the sounds of car wheels crunching up his driveway. He had been slumped along one side of the couch in his living room with Kira sleeping curled up next to him. To his side Isaac was breathing heavily in an armchair, looking more peaceful than Scott had seen him for a while.

'It's Stiles,' Lydia whispered to Scott from a chair on his other side, 'he sent a voice message to you saying he and Malia were coming over.'

Unlike the others she clearly hadn't fallen asleep at all that night; whatever it was she had heard in the forest had clearly shaken her. Whatever it was she couldn't seem to explain it properly without confusing everyone, music so beautiful it terrified her? It didn't make any sense to Scott but he knew well enough to heed Lydia's advice on what to do when things that didn't make sense were happening.

'Great, I'll go open the door,' Scott answered blurrily as he got up, careful not to disturb Kira's sleeping form.

He could hear Stiles climbing heavily up the stairs as he reached the door, the sounds of a departing car signalling the driver leaving as well. He opened the door with a smile of welcome which quickly became a worried frown as he saw a limp Malia curled up in Stiles' arms.

'What happened?' He asked as Stiles walked into the house.

'I'll explain later, can we get her to your room first?' Stiles asked as Lydia got out of her seat and walked over to join them.

'I'll take her,' Scott offered as he took Malia into his own arms and quickly carried her up the stairs to his room, leaving Stiles with Lydia.

'What's that?' Lydia asked, pointing at the dimly glowing sword at Stiles' waist.

'That is a sword,' Stiles told her bluntly, 'which I found at the nemeton and happens to be made from living iron that that is somehow semi-conscious.'

'It's a long story,' he added at Lydia's blank expression while Scott hurried back downstairs.

'Was she wearing my hoodie?' Scott asked curiously.

'Yeah, her own hoodie had a hole blown into it with a shotgun so we had to make do,' Stiles replied as Scott's gaze followed Lydia's and landed on the sword at his hip. Before Scott could ask Stiles said, 'Why don't we wake the others so I can tell you all about it and then you can tell me how your evening's been.'

So, Kira and Isaac were shaken awake and, when they were all settled in seats, Stiles began to explain everything that had happened that afternoon. Occasionally one of the others looked like they were going to interrupt with a question but, thankfully, they remained quiet to let him finish his story without having to keep starting up again.

'So Kate's alive,' Scott said in a faraway voice, his mind drifting back to the night that Kate pointed a gun to his head. 'That's _great_.'

'At least we now have some idea about what's happened to Derek,' Isaac added.

'We don't know that for sure,' Kira told him reassuringly, 'for all we know she may have nothing at all to do with Derek.'

'Really? If I managed to come miraculously back from the grave the first thing I'd want to do is get revenge on the person who put me there. In her case it would be Peter and the best way to get to him would be through Derek.'

'She also kind of had a thing about killing Derek and me,' Scott said grimly. 'On the plus side, you got a cool sword out of it,' he added to Stiles with a grin.

'Yeah, it feels like your stealing my act,' Kira pointed out jokingly.

'Well I wasn't really thinking about whether our looks would clash when I grabbed the sword,' Stiles replied.

'Does this at least explain why you were so worried about keeping everyone safe tonight Lydia?' Scott asked hopefully as he turned to the silent girl.

'No, I don't think what I heard had anything to do with Allison's aunt. The singing was coming from hundreds of voices, not one, and the feeling I had when I heard them was…terrifying. Whatever else is out there is dangerous and I could feel that veiled behind the beauty of the music.'

While Lydia talked, Stiles could feel a similar unease crawling over his skin but had no idea why until she stopped and looked around in panic. In that moment he could hear it too, faint singing at the edge of hearing and, as he looked around, Stiles could see the others looking around in confusion too as they heard it.

'You guys are all hearing it this time right,' Lydia said in a fearful tone.

'Yeah but what are they saying?' Scott asked in confusion.

As if in response the singers' voices rose in volume and then…everything was perfect. The music was more beautiful than anything Stiles had heard before and just hearing it made the world seem a better place.

'_Tall and proud and wondrous fair,_

_We are the people of the dark and air._

_Shed away all your fear._

_When we sing our call,_

_You'll know we're near._

It was perfect and it signalled in a new age of beauty and greatness and all things that humans were not. The only one who didn't seem to be enjoying the song was Lydia who sat hunched over with her hands tightly clamped around her ears.

_Why would she do that?_ Stiles thought angrily as he watched her. Ignoring the song was sacrilege, it was worse than murder. _But Lydia is a Banshee,_ an unbidden thought said; _she can hear things that you can't. What if she's hearing something different?_

And then, as if changing radio stations, Stiles' hearing seemed to slip through the singing in his ears to hear something being sung below the primary lyrics. At first it sounded like a language he didn't know until another shift came and suddenly, he could understand their words perfectly.

_At the hollow tree,_

_We Old Ones throng,_

_To bend your will with our old song._

_The banshee wails in the darkening night,_

_As we will dance,_

_Till the morning light._

The voices still sung beautifully but now Stiles could hear the threat and danger carried in their music. He looked around the room and saw how all the others except Lydia were sitting with blank, blissful looks on their faces. A light caught the bottom of his eye and he looked down to see the sword at his waist. The silver light were glowing and flashing along its surface with an angry fervour, reminding Stiles of a dog barking from its cage.

Gripping the handle of the sword Stiles could feel the warmth of the blade through the white leather of the handle, the power that seemed to be surging through it in reaction to the song. At his touch the light along the sword started to move with greater purpose and energy and, as he drew it from his belt loop, began to flow from out of the blade to form a strange silver aura that enveloped the room.

Immediately the singers' voices were dimmed, allowing Lydia to look up from her curled up position and the other to wake as if from a deep sleep. As the music completely faded the silver light sifted back into the blade until it was once again flowing calmly along the sword's surface.

'What,' Stiles asked as the others regained control of themselves, 'was that?'

* * *

As the last night bus arrived at the Beacon Hills bus station there was an audible sigh of relief from the staff waiting to leave for home and the one passenger who'd reached her destination.

Cora dropped off the bus, her rucksack carrying all her possessions slung carelessly over her shoulder even though it appeared to weigh heavily. She looked around her as she walked out of the station and onto the dark streets, apparently unconcerned with the dim lighting.

She would head off to Derek's apartment first although she'd most likely find it pointless. If Isaac had been right when he'd contacted her, her brother had been gone long enough for any lead to have disappeared. Still, she'd have time to rest before meeting Scott's pack and, who knows, she might defy the odds and find something.

Ahead of her someone was waiting beside a broken down car. Usually she wouldn't have given it much thought but the man caused her senses to tingle in recognition of another werewolf. Looking him over she felt she knew him from somewhere; he was about her age and very good looking, although she could see a flicker of arrogance across his features.

Suddenly it hit her as she realised how expensive the man's car looked. Scott was unlikely to have started recruiting and she had heard about the one werewolf her brother turned who had left before her arrival. She'd probably seen his picture somewhere and anyway, only one werewolf Derek had turned was rich.

'Hey,' she said, walking over to the boy who looked confused at her approach, 'is your name Jackson?'

'Yeah, how'd you know,' Jackson replied as he looked Cora up and down.

'I heard some stuff about you from my brother Derek,' she replied, flashing her yellow eyes for a moment.

'I thought all of his family were dead,' Jackson challenged.

'Not all of us,' Cora replied with a smile. 'So what brings you back?'

'I just had the feeling that I was being drawn back here. As if I had some unfinished business.'

'Well that's a funny thing Jackson,' Cora said casually, 'because I know just how you feel.'


	3. Chapter 3

History is a funny thing, like people it changes as time goes on and tends to get a little forgetful. For instance, the history of the hunters states that the first documented werewolves were descendants of a group of humans cursed by the gods and led by a man named Deucalion which, in hindsight, is probably not true. For most people, werewolves are a legend and not part of any _real_ history at all.

But all legends must start from somewhere, even if the fine detail is forgotten or changed later on. Such as when a group of men dug into the earth to find a seam of iron that glowed silver, iron that lived.

At the time mankind had a great need for living iron.

* * *

Stiles was dreaming again. He was lying in darkness with earth all around him, leaving no room for him to move or breath. Even so he felt…peaceful, like when you wake up just enough to know you're still sleeping.

He began to hear noises above him, faint thuds flowing down through the earth that gradually grew louder with a steady beat. Suddenly the earth above Stiles felt light and fell away, revealing an open, sunlit sky above him with several awestruck faces staring back down at him, their faces reflecting silver light.

The image above him blurred and he felt momentum around him as if he were rushing through the air until he came to a stop, his surroundings settling into a more familiar background.

'Again?' Stiles said wearily as he looked around the nemeton's clearing to the ancient stump. The sword was in the tree's centre, its point stuck into the bark as if someone had stabbed it in there. For a quiet moment Stiles watched the sword as a breeze picked up between them and had the strange feeling the sword was looking back.

The leaves in the trees rustled around them as they stared. He could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears while the silver lights along the sword rippled and flickered to their own beat.

'_Learn,_' a voice said in Stiles' ear. It was like when he had heard the voice made up of the sounds of the forest only now it felt more concentrated around the stump of the nemeton and the sword.

Slowly, Stiles reached forward and grasped the sword's hilt, fitting his wrist between two of the four prongs that descended from the blade.

* * *

Malia woke with a start, the last image in her mind as she regained consciousness being the sight of that Kate woman pointing a gun at her. She was lying on someone's sofa, not hers clearly but the scent around the place was familiar.

Sitting up she felt gauze around her middle and realised with a stab of panic that she must have actually been shot. Touching the fabric she felt a small soreness but otherwise nothing else.

Stiles was slumped in an armchair next to her, his head resting on his shoulder as he breathed deeply. She smiled at how goofy he looked even then before noticing the silver light at his legs. A glowing sword was rested on the side of the armchair and was flickering with silver light.

In awe Malia reached out to touch the flat of the blade but pulled her hand back when the light snapped together and rippled more vigorously around the area she would have felt. Clearly it didn't want to be touched.

With a snort Stiles suddenly woke and, noticing Malia looking at him and the sword, quickly sat up and grabbed it.

'It didn't cut you did it?' He asked with concern.

'No, it gave me plenty of warning,' Malia replied before realising how ridiculous that sounded.

'How are you feeling?' Stiles asked.

'Pretty good considering I was shot point-blank by a crazy woman. Whose hoodie is this by the way?'

'It's Scott's. I had to, er, take of you other shirt so Dr Deaton could treat you,' Stiles said as blush began to creep up his cheeks.

'Hmm, you taking my top off and a couch. Am I the only one getting a flashback?' Malia joked, causing Stiles to turn even redder.

'Uh, yeah. Actually, while we're on the subject…'

'Oh good, you're both up,' Lydia's cheerful voice said from the doorway. 'And I thought you were going to sleep through the entire afternoon.'

'Hi Lydia,' Stiles said with disappointment.

'If you two are ready, the rest of us are talking in the kitchen while we have lunch,' Lydia said while pointing behind her. She winked at Stiles before disappearing back from where she came.

'Well, looks like we're expected,' Malia said as she got up.

'Yeah,' Stiles agreed as he picked up the sword and sheathed it in his belt loop again.

As they walked into the kitchen they could hear Isaac's voice say, 'At least we have an idea about what's happened to Derek.'

'What makes you say that?' Stiles asked as he sat down next to Scott and Malia took a seat beside Kira. Stiles immediately reached over and took half of Scott's sandwich from a plate in front of them much to Scott's disgruntlement.

'Didn't…Allison's crazy aunt have a thing about killing Derek?' Isaac asked back, the slight hesitation barely noticeable but still there.

'Yeah, she would also want revenge against Peter for killing her,' Scott added, 'if she's come back with new powers I bet he'd be her first target.'

'So we try to find out where she's taken them,' Lydia suggested briskly.

'If she hasn't killed them,' Isaac added darkly.

'Again with you and the negativity,' Stiles complained with annoyance.

'Well I haven't exactly had much to be positive about lately.'

'Enough,' Scott ordered as he stood up. 'Okay, Isaac, why don't you and I go and check out Kate's grave. You used to work there so you might notice something's that'll help.'

'Better than that, I dug her grave,' Isaac reminded him, 'but don't expect much. Derek's been gone for nearly a month, any evidence will probably have faded away by now.'

'You're not really a morning person are you?' Stiles joked sarcastically in the hope of breaking the tension.

'So,' Kira said, changing the conversation as she turned to Scott, 'I think that I should ask my mum about this, maybe she knows something we don't and Stiles should come with me too, he and I could find out how good he is with a sword and see what he's made of.'

'Weak flesh, organs that I don't want to see at the end of your kitsune sword,' Stiles said with worry.

'Well _I_ should call my dad. He's probably worried since I didn't come home last night,' Malia said.

'No need, I sent him a text from your phone to tell him you were staying over with me,' Lydia stated with a smile.

'And I texted your dad to say you were staying over with me,' Scott told Stiles.

'Oh, okay, then I'm free to do whatever,' Malia offered, half-jokingly.

'I was hoping Lydia could go and translate the Argent's bestiary to see if she could find out about the singers. Maybe you could go with her as…protection, I don't really feel comfortable letting anyone without powers go out alone,' Scott suggested.

'Great,' Lydia replied sarcastically, 'I get to enjoy reading Latin. And just because I can't grow claws doesn't mean my powers aren't…something.'

'Could you please do it?' Scott asked pleadingly. 'You're the only one who understands Latin around here and we _need_ to know what we're up against.'

'I never said I wasn't going to do it,' Lydia replied, her usual smile returning to her lips. 'Come on Malia let's go see if we can bore ourselves to death.'

* * *

'So, how's the kitsune training with your mum going?' Stiles asked Kira as he drove down the road to her house. Scott and Isaac had dropped them off at his old jeep parked at the school before leaving them to go to the cemetery.

'Alright I guess. I'm a lot better at controlling my foxfire than I used to be but my healing ability isn't as god as it should be,' Kira said, as if reciting a criticism than memory. 'Of course, it's to be expected considering I'm a thunder kitsune.'

'Do you still have to play that board game every day?' Stiles asked, remembering his own mental battle with the nogitsune over that same game.

'Oh yeah, one hour of GO every day, it's just never ending excitement at the Yukimura house,' Kira joked as she looked out the jeep's window. 'So what's with you and Malia?'

The jeep swerved along the road for a moment before Stiles could get it back under control and driving steadily again, giving Kira enough time to release her death grip on the door's handle.

'Note to self: don't mention women to Stiles while he's driving,' she half-whispered to herself.

'Sorry,' Stiles apologised. 'There's nothing with me and Malia. Not that I wouldn't mind there being something with me and Malia. But there is no_ with_ so I don't know why you're asking something like that,' he stammered, hoping to end the subject and cursing his hyperactive brain for not coming up with something smarter.

'Right,' Kira said in mild amusement and, for some reason, a tone that she knew more than he was letting on.

'What do you know?' he asked with resignation.

'Malia told me and Lydia what happened between you both,' Kira answered with a smile, 'I thought it was kind of romantic, Lydia asked how awkward you were.'

'Great, so Lydia knows too,' Stiles asked as red flushed his cheeks at the thought of his first crush knowing the intimate details of his love life.

'Malia also knows you told Scott. He let it slip when he interrupted us to pick me up for a date,'

'Thanks Scott,' Stiles said under his breath as he turned into Kira's driveway. Kira was still smiling cheerfully when they walked into the house, him carrying the sword in a bag to hide it from the eyes of the public.

'Kira, is that you?' Kira's mother's voice asked from a neighbouring room.

'Yeah mum, Stiles is with me too. Uh, can we ask you something?' Kira called back, leading to her mother appearing from around a corner.

'What is it?' She asked curiously. In answer Stiles opened the bag to reveal the shining light of the sword within, causing Kira's mother to gasp in awe. After a quick explanation where Kira and Stiles managed to sum up the past day's events they all sat down in the living room.

'There are many legends concerning singing enchanters,' Kira's mother began, 'although I'm only familiar with the Eastern verities. I've also never encountered anything like that sword, I don't think there has ever been a seam of living iron discovered in Japan.'

'Don't you have any advice you can give us?' Kira asked hopelessly.

'Very little I'm afraid,' her mother replied as she turned to Stiles. 'All I can say would be this; you have already suffered the consequences of giving power to the nemeton and releasing the nogitsune I trapped beneath it. Has it ever occurred to you that I might not have been the only person to trap something using the nemeton?'

'You're saying that something's coming from the nemeton like before?' Stiles asked.

'Or something very similar, it would explain why that woman you encountered has remained hidden. It sounds as if she's been guarding the nemeton from outside influence.'

'If you're right then that's what we're going to need to target,' Kira said as she stood up, 'and we'll start by seeing what you can do with a sword Stiles.'

Stiles found himself being guided out into the Yukimura's back garden while Kira ran to her room to collect her own sword.

'Do you know the principles of sword fighting?' her mother asked Stiles.

'Uh, I'm supposed to try and hit her and she's supposed to try and block me. I'm not sure what happens after that,' Stiles told her truthfully as he took the sword from out of the bag, his wrist fitting perfectly between two of the blade's four prongs.

'You'll pick it up,' Kira said reassuringly as she walked out into the garden, drawing her own sword from its sheath, 'I promise I'll be careful, just try not to kill me by accident.'

'Ready,' Kira's mother asked as she stepped back, leaving the two standing a few meters apart, Kira holding her sword upwards with both hands while Stiles held his uncertainly with one.

'Begin.'

* * *

Scott and Isaac parked their bikes a couple of streets away from the cemetery and walked the rest of the way, at first in silence.

'So are you still staying at your old house?' Scott asked eventually.

'Yeah, it's not too bad,' Isaac returned.

'You know you can always come and stay at my place, it's kind of weird not having you in the house.'

'Thanks but no thanks, I'm fine the way I am.'

'You think so? I don't think it's good for you, getting so obsessed over Derek vanishing and distancing yourself from us. We all need to help each other get passed what happened.'

For a while Isaac remained silent as they walked but then replied, 'It's easier for you. You got to hold her last and…hear her say she loves you one last time.'

'I, she didn't mean it like that. I mean…' Scott stammered hurriedly as he tried to find the right words to explain.

'I understand,' Isaac reassured him, 'I get that you were her first and everything and that she'd always have…those feelings. Sometimes, I just wish that I could have been the one to say goodbye. I guess I just needed a purpose to keep me from going crazy and finding Derek was as good as any.'

'I get that,' Scott agreed, 'if it wasn't for Kira I wouldn't have been able to get up in the mornings. I don't know how Lydia managed it; Stiles and Malia helped her I think.'

'We're nearly there,' Isaac noted as they walked onto the street the bordered the graveyard and entered through a small gateway. 'I should probably tell you that I asked someone to join us.'

'I can smell them already,' Scott stated, smirking a little at the impressed look on Isaac's face, being alpha had its perks.

'Wait, them? I only called Cora, who's the other one?'

'That would be me loser,' Jackson mocked as they rounded a corner and almost walked into the two.

'You guys weren't kidding about this guy's better than thou attitude,' Cora stated as she waved at the two in greeting. Jackson meanwhile walked confidently over to Scott and peered at the boy's eyes.

'Show me,' he ordered with his usual tone, clearly his time in England hadn't changed him.

'Show you what?' Scott asked with confusion.

'Danny told me you were the alpha now but I don't believe that a loser like you could have killed someone for it,' Jackson replied.

'He didn't have to, he's a true alpha,' Isaac boasted beside Scott, crossing his arms as he did.

'Oh, so he cheated? Well, no matter how you got it, don't expect me to take any orders, I didn't from Derek and I won't from you.'

'Alright, enough of the wang measuring contest' Cora interrupted, moving between the two boys with an almost bored expression. 'Scott, can you show us what we're here to see.'

As Isaac guided the group to the grave Scott thought over the conversation, feeling he'd missed something.

'Danny!' he exclaimed when he finally got it, 'Danny knows about us?'

'Sure he does,' Jackson replied mockingly, 'I'm his best friend; of course I was going to tell him after I turned. How dumb _are_ you?'

'He never mentioned anything,' Scott muttered, feeling slightly betrayed.

'Here it is,' Isaac said in front of them, pointing down at a grave. They circled around it so that all of them could get a good look. Cora knelt down and inspected the grass covered earth with her palm, gently pressing down before sifting through it with her fingers.

'There's a patch near the middle that feels like it's been overturned but the grass above it looks undisturbed and it's even the same length as everywhere else, if this hunter was dug out then she hid it pretty well,' Cora stated as she stood back up.

'So now what McCall? What else were you hoping to find?' Jackson asked Scott.

'A trail,' Scott said seriously as he let his werewolf senses take over, 'and it starts with the scent that starts at this grave and goes into the forest.'

'I don't smell anything,' Jackson scoffed.

'That's because it's too faint for a beta to sense but I can still pick it up,' Scott said before sneaking a look at Cora and Isaac who were smirking. 'It seems like you're a little out of practice Jackson, think you can keep up?'

'Just watch me McCall.'

* * *

'Found anything yet?' Malia asked desperately as she stared blankly at the ceiling of Lydia's room while Lydia read the Argent bestiary on her laptop.

'You're not the one who has to translate page after page of Latin,' Lydia retorted, 'The Argents never even bothered to do anything with this stupid bestiary after they digitized it. No archive, no search engine. I just have to keep going alphabetically until I hit something that looks right.'

'How far have you got?'

'I've just passed the page on kanimas, which incidentally is the only thing that remotely resembles Stiles' description of Kate,' Lydia replied exhaustedly.

'Well, that's a good thing isn't it?' Malia asked with confusion.

'It would be if I hadn't seen what a kanima actually looked like. It's described in the book as a leopard-like creature but in actuality it's more like some giant lizard monster.'

'Maybe there are different types,' Malia suggested helpfully.

'Maybe,' Lydia agreed as she turned her chair away from her computer and put on her usual smile, 'but right now I need a break or I'm going to go crazy.'

'What do you want to do instead? Girl talk?' Malia asked as Lydia sat down next to her on the bed.

'I don't really _do_ girl talk,' Lydia said with only minor disdain for the activity.

'Then why don't you tell me why everyone gives me weird looks when that Peter guy is mentioned,' Malia said slyly, surprising Lydia who sat up straighter, 'and don't try to deny it, I saw you do it in the kitchen.'

'Fine,' Lydia replied with resignation, she'd known she'd have to bring it up eventually but there had never been a good time. 'Did you ever wonder how you became a were-whatever?'

'Coyote and yeah I did. If I'd been bitten I'd have transformed during the next full moon but I _know_ that I hadn't been bitten before the…accident. That can only mean that it's genetic like that Derek guy, which means…I think I can tell who Peter is?' Malia recited, hoping she was wrong, that her father was still just that.

'I don't know much but he _is _your biological father,' Lydia acknowledged, not looking at Malia as she said it.

'What _do_ you know?' Malia asked, hearing Lydia's heartbeat rise as she asked.

'What I heard was broken and distorted,' Lydia explained, 'but in his memory I heard a lot of screaming and a lot of rage.'

Malia felt her blood boil as the thought of what must have happened screamed angrily in her head. She felt her teeth and claws lengthen in response and didn't fight to keep them down. 'And this _Peter_, he was taken by Kate too?' She growled through gritted fangs.

'She probably killed him,' Lydia stated, sharing in Malia's hatred for the man, 'At least I hope she did.'

* * *

Stiles and Kira were panting with exhaustion as the sun began to set over the Yukimura garden, they'd been sparring for hours with barely any rest but it was worth it.

Kira stepped forward, feigning a strike to the right which Stiles spotted and parried to the left, catching her sword mid swing before retaliating with a few quick slashes of his own which Kira jumped away from easily.

When they'd first started Stiles had been terrified of anything going wrong and Kira had clearly shared his fears. She'd started off with a slow strike to the chest to help get Stiles started and both were astonished when his arm had moved instinctively in a flash of silver to parry it perfectly.

In that moment Stiles' dream came back to him all at once. When he'd taken the sword from the nemeton he'd started to learn, just as it wanted. The sword was unique so its fighting style was unique as well and in the dream Stiles learnt it all.

He shifted his feet into one of the stances the sword had taught him and raised it confidently in front of him, smiling at Kira who was watching with a mixture of surprise and bemusement.

She'd come at him again, more confident in his skills this time and was parried again. Stiles barely had too think as he blocked her attacks and then began to retaliate with his own which Kira blocked and evaded herself. It was exhilarating and he felt the sword grow warmer in his hand as its light danced in delight at his progress.

In the present Stiles followed Kira, pressing her back with swift stabbing motions, not actually aiming to hit her but getting close enough to keep her wary. She dodged around his last thrust and spun swiftly; hitting him in the shoulder with the hilt of her sword and making him stagger away.

'Alright I've had enough,' Kira panted as Stiles massaged his shoulder. 'How are you so good with that?'

'I'm a vivid dreamer,' Stiles joked as they staggered inside her house.

'Kira you're phone rang. It's a text from your boyfriend,' Kira's father told her as they walked into the kitchen, holding out her phone for her to take.

'Please tell me you didn't read it,' Kira begged without much hope as Stiles poured them glasses of water.

'Of course not, I'm waiting for you to tell me exactly what it says,' her father returned cheerily.

'He wants us to stay over at his place again tonight so we can talk about what we've all found out today,' Kira told Stiles when she'd read the message, 'they've ordered pizza apparently.'

'I'm not sure I should approve of my daughter spending the night at her boyfriends,' her father pointed out with mock sternness. 'How many kisses did he leave? That will tell me his motive.'

'Very funny,' Kira retorted sarcastically as she put her phone in her jeans pocket.

'Three,' Stiles answered automatically as he packed his sword and Kira's into his bag, 'it's always three. Scott's a romantic one.'

'Anyway we should probably get going,' Kira said hurriedly as she started to push Stiles out the house. 'Dad, could you and mum wear earplugs or something tonight, I just want to be sure that whatever got us won't get you too.'

'Of course, as long as you promise you'll be just as safe with the others,' her father replied.

'As long as we're near Stiles' sword we should be safe,' Kira reassured him as she and Stiles stepped out the door and started to walk to his jeep.

'Let's hurry up Stiles, apparently you're old friend Jackson is eating all the pepperoni,' she told Stiles as she stepped up into his Jeep.

'Wait, what?' Stiles asked with shock.

* * *

Kate Argent walked calmly around the stump of the nemeton with her shotgun resting over her shoulder, as if she were only going out for a night-time stroll. She kept her ears constantly listening out for any more intruders; they weren't going to get past her again. Her eyes, however, wandered across the clearing, admiring the view of the forest.

It was funny, she thought, how the trees of the forest hadn't lost their leaves this year. Even though it was nearing the beginning of winter the forest was still a mass of green foliage.

It was Their work, Their power leaking back into the world and changing it, making sure everything was perfect for Their return. The funny thing was that no one had noticed, that was Them too of course, it was Their oldest power and, in many ways, Their strongest.

'_Vanguard_,' a female voice called to her, immediately snapping her attention to it. She turned to the Nemeton and bowed to the figure in the air above it. It would be too much to say it was a ghost, it wasn't even mist. Instead you could only notice the figure was there by noticing that there was a…gap where something should have been but wasn't.

'What are your orders?' Kate asked dutifully. Before her transformation she would have loathed seeing such obedience in herself. One of the better points of the Argent family was that the women got to be in charge, just the way Kate liked it. But then again, before her transformation she had never known about Them, now it was clear to her that, if she could obey anyone, it would be Them. They gave her everything she wanted and all they wanted in return was for her to do what she did best, if obedience was the price then fine by her.

'_We sense that more wolves have joined the local pack. Their increased numbers will give the alpha enough power to resist us and protect his pack from our control.'_

'Would you like me to get rid of a few?' Kate asked hopefully.

'_Soon, but tonight we target the emissary. He is too close to learning our identity and must be eliminated; sadly he will not suffer much.'_

Kate smiled happily at that but a niggling thought still squirmed in the back of her mind. 'Stiles still has the sword, doesn't that also present a risk?'

There was laughter from the figure above the tree which held echoes that sounded as if many of Them were laughing at her words. _'We once faced two hundred of those wretched blades, one survivor means nothing. It hasn't yet bonded closely enough with its Chosen to share all it knows with him. We will give them a few more days; it will be so much more fun to watch his failure firsthand.'_

The figure faded away from the tree, leaving Kate alone again in the forest. Soon though, it was replaced by the echoes of singing which wafted out over the trees, seeking a specific target.

* * *

**And the mystery deepens :P**

**The next chapter is probably going to take as much time to upload as this one was. This is because I am now starting my proper exam season which means most of my time is being taken up by revision.**

**That being said I will keep working on it whenever I have the chance and after my last exam (Mid-June) I'll be all yours and able to update much more frequently.**

**Thanks for sticking with me this far and I hope you're enjoying the story :D**

**Until next time have a good month :P**


End file.
